LÉ ‘James Joyce’ recovers 16 bodies off Libyan coast

A Naval Service ship recovered 16 dead bodies on Thursday when it went to the aid of migrants packed on to a wooden boat off the coast of Libya, a statement from the service said.

The LÉ James Joyce, which is in the Mediterranean specifically to perform search-and-rescue operations, brought on board the bodies of 16 people, Naval Service statement said.

On Wednesday, 22 bodies were recovered from a rubber boat off the Libyan coast, and some 3,000 are dead or missing after trying to reach the European Union by sea so far this year, the International Organization for Migration estimates.

The LÉ James Joyce, an Italian navy vessel, a British ship participating in an EU anti-people smuggling operation, and a vessel operated by a humanitarian group also brought 1,128 migrants and refugees to safety on Thursday, an Italian coastguard said.

To date, the Naval Service has rescued more than 10,000 people since Irish vessels were first deployed to the humanitarian operation in May 2015.

There has been a jump in the number of migrants who people smugglers have put on to overcrowded boats in Libya this week amid calm seas and hot summer weather.

On Tuesday alone, some 3,200 migrants were rescued at sea and one dead body was recovered.

More then 84,000 have crossed the sea from North Africa to Italy so far this year, in line with the number who came over during the same period last year, according to official data.

That brings the total number of people to have reached Italy by to more than 400,000 since the beginning of 2014.

Reuters